[TRANSCRIPT]
**** – (): 00:00.10
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I have to say I’m going to just cross check. Ah, how do I pro pronounce your name I just want to confirm before Tan Maya perfect okay welcome to the podcast and maya a big welcome. How are you doing.
**** – (): 00:06.88
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): It’s 10 maya. Yeah. Thank you, Thank you? I’m good. Yeah, it’s some gray and not exactly beautiful outside but that requires you to shine internally much more than normal. So yeah.
**** – (): 00:19.88
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): This.
**** – (): 00:26.78
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I Love that I Love how you’ve put that where are you right now.
**** – (): 00:31.80
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): So I’m actually located in Indiana I moved here about over a year ago for a position at the university here. So yeah, it’s been. It’s been quite a transition in many ways you know you’re not in the us I know but.
**** – (): 00:35.21
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 00:40.94
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 00:50.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah.
**** – (): 00:51.60
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Those who are in the us will understand that there are drastic differences between the coastal cities and the cities that are in the Midwest and um, yeah, so you know it.
**** – (): 00:58.38
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And why what? I What do you mean by that for everyone who’s listening including you don’t know.
**** – (): 01:09.60
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): There’s a lot of the from a political stance the this center of the United States tends to be much more heavily republican a lot of um and then the more sort of external. States so those like on the peripheral rate. So the west coast East Coast tend to have more liberal mindsets. So you know gun mentality a lot of those kind of things are very culturally well part of this culture and.
**** – (): 01:37.66
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Call for party.
**** – (): 01:43.70
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): it’s to me it’s it’s also it’s not about judging as much as a sense of curiosity around like why people believe in these things or why they take these certain actions and you know even myself I’ve I’ve gone out. Shooting since I’ve been here for the first time of my life and like actually held a gun you know and I mean in a range right? But it’s it’s one of those things where you um, you know for me to fully like understand where I am it’s like well I want to experience you know why.
**** – (): 02:04.70
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh yeah.
**** – (): 02:17.89
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): People might make certain decisions that they do um and then you know I think the other terrain wise it tends to be a lot flatter in this middle part. So it’s not as fun. So but but yeah, it’s um, it’s it’s.
**** – (): 02:20.94
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Nan.
**** – (): 02:31.14
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And.
**** – (): 02:36.43
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know I think for me as an artist though the decision to move here. Not only for you know this particular career opportunity but it was also because of the fact that it’s so expensive in the coastal cities to live whereas like here I can buy a house and have much more space.
**** – (): 02:49.62
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay, yes.
**** – (): 02:55.93
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And space is really really important to me as a creator. Yeah, so that too. Um.
**** – (): 02:57.84
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Important. Yeah, yeah, not makes up so you’ve had a you’ve had a um, what do I say an year of 2023
**** – (): 03:07.84
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): A what.
**** – (): 03:11.49
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah, 2023 like a full twenty Twenty three yeah yeah yeah okay let’s start from the beginning you know I really want to before we go into you know, a lot of your thoughts and I have those questions but let’s start I want to know more about you in the sense of.
**** – (): 03:12.63
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh yeah, that’s an understatement. Yes.
**** – (): 03:28.63
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Where do you come from? What’s been your story did you always want to be an artist. What brought you in the arts like there’s so many questions when we look at someone like you know as an artist. We only look about look at their work and for me when I look at someone’s work or look at someone as an artist I’m Like. What brought you here What pulled you out. Um, what was your idea of being an artist. Why are you doing the work that you’re doing.
**** – (): 03:58.77
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, so ah for me personally I did always want to be an artist. There was no question in my mind. Um it was something that like.
**** – (): 04:04.60
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Owlo.
**** – (): 04:09.61
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): As as cheesy as it sounds I like actually proclaim to my parents when I was like 7 um and since then yeah and since then every thing um you know my parents are very supportive ah people so I don’t remember any.
**** – (): 04:16.83
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah, and what was your parents reaction to that.
**** – (): 04:28.62
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Reaction positive or negative but I will say that I am fortunate that throughout like my younger years they did take efforts to like link me with certain artists or people who could mentor me and I deeply appreciate that.
**** – (): 04:30.26
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Magnet.
**** – (): 04:47.60
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um I was born in Washington d c but I actually spent more of my informative years growing up in Santa Fe New Mexico and for those who are aware of Santa Fe one of the stats of Santa Fe at least back in the day I don’t know if it still applies was that they have the most galleries per capita in the world. And it’s played a place you know where Georgia o’keeffe and you know had come out with Sealitz in the beginning and and then she ended up staying stgliz didn’t but um, basically it’s it became this kind of melting pot for artists. But also it’s a very.
**** – (): 05:07.12
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, oh Wow yeah.
**** – (): 05:21.12
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 05:25.45
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Like growing up. There was such an interesting experience from the perspective that you have the indigenous culture you have the new age culture or even like the hippies that came out in the sixty s and then you also have the Los Alamos
**** – (): 05:36.50
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah, yeah.
**** – (): 05:43.66
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Where where the labs are where the atom bomb was created so you have this like incredible sort of array of different kind of colliding but also what I see is weirdly for people to do any. Of what they do. It requires a level of not only spirituality but creative thinking and so yeah, so that that was that was like where I grew up is in Santa Fe and then I was really privileged in my gosh I was like.
**** – (): 06:02.83
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Absolutely.
**** – (): 06:18.46
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): My late my maybe 16 something in there and a professor from yale moved out and opened a grad school there and somehow I I went to this school I don’t know how I wasn’t a grad student I just took classes from him and.
**** – (): 06:27.20
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ok.
**** – (): 06:33.27
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay, okay.
**** – (): 06:37.97
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I up until that point had never really painted and the reason being is that I actually made a conscious decision not to drawing to me is so because drawing is just for myself is so fundamental to laying a really wonderful groundwork for everything else.
**** – (): 06:45.89
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And why so.
**** – (): 06:57.94
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And so I would you know even as a child come home from school finish my homework and draw until like three zero a m in the morning and just practice and practice and practice and then with him he you know opened my eyes to painting and really gave me the space.
**** – (): 07:05.23
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): No.
**** – (): 07:17.31
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And also the courage to do bigger things at that time. So I felt really fortunate to have um, yeah to have that exposure. Um and then yeah and then after that you know I moved to. Kansas City and I went to the Kansas City Art Institute with a pretty much full ride but was really unhappy and it was not just you know because of being in Kansas City but it was also really personal stuff going on in my life. You know I had a death in the family prior to that and. I was not prepared and lacked in the tools at you know age. Whatever I was 18 or so to handle that and so I then dropped out of school and ended up taking off. that summer to Florence and studying painting there and art history and then I was supposed to transfer to George Washington University which I had already gotten into with more of an emphasis on history and academics and I decided.
**** – (): 08:11.46
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, oh Wow! amazing.
**** – (): 08:27.65
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): That I was going to travel instead. So I took off to yeah so I left and I I started off just spending a little more time in Europe doing some work in between like a farm work and things like that and then I ended up leaving.
**** – (): 08:28.35
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh so you did.
**** – (): 08:41.29
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Wow wow.
**** – (): 08:44.91
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And going to Nepal and then that ended me in a sojourn through India and I was there for over oh I have definitely been to India I was there for over a year. Yeah, so yeah.
**** – (): 08:49.50
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh you’ve been to India. Oh amazing, you were here for a year that is so nice I have to hear your stories that goodness.
**** – (): 09:03.37
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And I was 19 at that time and so it I was you know I didn’t which is so weird I actually ended up doing like the rajastan area. But then somehow like when I came back.
**** – (): 09:07.68
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And did you come to alma did you see the tajal. Oh Christmas. Yeah.
**** – (): 09:22.35
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Flew into calcutta and I never went reversed and so I ended up just going down the coast. No no, which is weird. It’s one of those things that happens you know when you go traveling? Yeah yeah, so um.
**** – (): 09:24.56
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Usually you did not come to the Golden triangle. Yeah, but show you come by then.
**** – (): 09:39.76
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, so that was basically it and then I Um, you know came back from that journey and just kept making and creating and while I was there I was part of I you know I went into different ashrams and did that whole thing too and. Um, ended up like making art through all of that time and my art really changed I went from being well I went.
**** – (): 10:00.33
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): How let’s let’s also talk about that experience because I want to ask you in the sense of how even how early and young you were this is like a this is something I think I am born and brought up raised in India. So.
**** – (): 10:09.10
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 10:15.53
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, yeah.
**** – (): 10:18.57
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I mean of course and I think I’m of over the years I’ve got spiritually so much more air and intuit but every now and then this ah this is like a dream. Not only if you want to come to India or like ashroom or spirituality but just in general also sometimes we feel like I want to leave everything and even as artists sometimes we feel like I want to just leave everything travel and.
**** – (): 10:28.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Right.
**** – (): 10:37.32
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You know create or even like live the world and you know let’s a someone who’s done it I want to hear from you a your own experiences How those experiences a what was that experience. What was what was the good and not so good part. B.
**** – (): 10:45.50
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Mama.
**** – (): 10:54.89
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 10:56.72
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): How did it really change you as a person and how then it impacted you your maybe as an artist.
**** – (): 11:04.50
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Wow, That’s a loaded question. You know I mean I think to a certain degree. We’re always still processing things that have happened in the past. Even even if we’re not aware that it was linked back to X time. Um I.
**** – (): 11:04.89
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes I know.
**** – (): 11:11.63
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Exactly Yes, Yes, yeah, everything is linked.
**** – (): 11:22.34
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah I mean I think for myself at that time I used it as a really huge liberation. So for me, it was going from thinking that art needed to be something that was realistic to realizing that there’s. Ways that I could expand as a creator and tap into other worldly experiences and then see what comes out of that visually and so part of that process was almost what I would consider like a deconditioning. So for myself, it was literally.
**** – (): 11:56.57
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): But would you but okay sorry I want to ask you in this in this were you someone like were you chasing at that point something particularly um or you you were not as like.
**** – (): 12:12.70
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You were still open to whatever that experience was so like you know sometimes we feel like I was cha this idea of I I will find something meaningful for my work or my heart or whatever or you were just going with the floor like.
**** – (): 12:21.80
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh. I wanted to Unravel and I intentionally wanted to Unravel It had nothing to do with you know I’m gonna be this amazing artist and this is how it’s gonna translate it was how can I.
**** – (): 12:30.21
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay, yeah.
**** – (): 12:44.41
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Unravel so I can come into a greater sense of authenticity with what I do and to do that it meant that I needed to literally go against everything that I had prior like learned prior and that meant meeting the canvas daily. Not with the intent like anything that I thought logically that I was going to do I I and I actually had to force myself to override that right and I came to the canvas from a much more emotive stance. So what emotion am I in today. That’s what I’m going to paint.
**** – (): 13:08.73
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Does yeah.
**** – (): 13:21.68
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And and it doesn’t matter if it’s compositionally correct. It doesn’t matter if the colors are great. You know all of that kind of stuff. So then when I segwayed from India and I came. Um, I went to Amsterdam and I was staying with an artist friend there and doing art fairs and other things and then when I came back to the United States and I was creating at that time I ended up going moving to New York because I wanted to be.
**** – (): 13:50.43
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, okay up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
**** – (): 13:52.20
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Enmesh in in chaos like India I miss the chaos right? and so I was like I got to go to New York but the difference was that in India to me the heart was so much more the driver than the head in in.
**** – (): 14:04.25
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes.
**** – (): 14:07.44
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Even if people are bargaining with you and being kind of scrupulous in India I feel like it’s still coming from this playful heart space whereas New York and sort of that it felt very heady and it wasn’t as comfortable for me. But at the time when I was creating.
**** – (): 14:20.97
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And I also think like you know there’s something also here I feel like sometimes it’s just not ba wea but you know your I think it’s also conditioning because let’s say if I’m I’m born in brought up and raised you’re in India.
**** – (): 14:38.40
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Right.
**** – (): 14:40.68
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): This may be my comfort zone and also societal or how I’m supposed to the way I’m raised and my environment and my culture that plays a huge role on how we think and what we do and the moment. Um, and that’s that’s where I think our brain starts to tell us things. Okay, this is what you’re meant to do This is what you need to be doing.
**** – (): 14:48.36
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Well.
**** – (): 14:59.31
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): But the moment you get out of your comfort zone and in a place that’s not your and there’s no rule and you do not know the rules and you you really have to just be yourself that is where the heart becomes the predominant versus the mind because you do not the mind has nothing to tell you because there’s no.
**** – (): 15:05.90
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Well.
**** – (): 15:17.55
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I think that societal structure. Okay, like you know, even in New York maybe because you are not. You know us is a home to you and once you come back then there’s this constant. Okay, this is what you’re meant to be doing. Oh you have to be in New York you have to be doing this versus if you were in India you didn’t know that what you were meant to be doing in India there’s no. You do not know that rulebook I know that and maybe I think you know if I go to us for me. There’s no rulebook I don’t know anything everything is intuitive and my heart wherever it takes me I would do that. Do you think am I am I right.
**** – (): 15:48.26
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, well I mean I’m talking and I think more from the stance of like how it impacts one creatively versus like the conditioning of family or culture. It’s to me.
**** – (): 15:57.96
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 16:05.36
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Like just to further that story I actually ended up going to upstate New York because this professor who I’d studied with in New Mexico closed the school and it moved back and so I went to see him and he looked at my work and he goes what the f are you doing and I was like what do you mean and he’s like. If anybody can draw people you can. He’s like why aren’t you integrating the figure into your work and I’m one to with people I respect when I get feedback I listen right? and so I went back to.
**** – (): 16:25.42
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 16:41.64
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know my work and I reapproached it with kind of this integrative mentality and this is where that heart and mind I was doing mainly abstract work at that time. Yeah, and so to me this is where the heart and the mind merge where I mean where.
**** – (): 16:46.26
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Before that. What were you doing then? okay. My Oh I get in a.
**** – (): 17:00.67
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Where for myself the abstract work really fed this this heart space for me and this isn’t the way it’s for everybody I’m sure because some people take abstract work very mentally. But then mentally.
**** – (): 17:06.74
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, yeah, very many. Yeah.
**** – (): 17:15.49
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): The realistic work the stuff that makes me focus and dial in that’s what like engages my mind and so to me it was this beautiful compromise between these 2 spaces and this way of of integration right? Um, not.
**** – (): 17:27.91
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh I get you now? yes.
**** – (): 17:35.41
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And and so I’m not like denying any aspect of myself. It’s more like I am I’m accepting that. So yeah.
**** – (): 17:38.33
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah I Love that? Yeah no I felt that recently I think in my own work also because I’ve been doing figurative work for so many years now. But. I Always felt like the abstraction I wanted to like release my mind a bit nothing so much in the moment and all of that and I figured like you know there was something that just maybe just the way abstraction worked just never spoke to me and and in my own experimentation I figured like the way I. I work with material the way I work with embroideries and you know materials like these that is my abstraction that is that is like the balance of my mind and my heart like in my practice I need I need areas of the work where I am very intentional where I can like you know.
**** – (): 18:23.46
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): M.
**** – (): 18:31.46
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): But where I’m also mindless like I’m so intuitive and I feel like Ben both of those come together like you feel like a lot more satisfied in the sense of you can find ah a balance and a balance of how you want to push yourself creatively as well.
**** – (): 18:44.90
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah I mean I would agree it sounds like for you, you are doing like so your abstraction or that heart centered is through tactile kinesthetic work right? is that what I’m understanding. Yeah, so that yeah so that makes I mean we all.
**** – (): 18:57.28
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yes, yeah.
**** – (): 19:03.50
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know we all have to find whatever that is and speaks to our works for us. Um, and I think that that center place of like integration is huge for any creator. Um you know and to deny that is really.
**** – (): 19:03.93
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Works for us. Yes.
**** – (): 19:14.58
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Now.
**** – (): 19:21.20
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, it’s it’s hard. You know I think we all struggle with those places of like I want I want to do something different or I want to you know like break out of my little box. So.
**** – (): 19:27.23
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, what did you think? let’s hear that yes did you think that were you a boy you on that vi to gus of you Want to be different. You wanted. You don’t want to do what everybody else is doing. You know.
**** – (): 19:42.70
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I had nothing to do with what other people like were doing It was more just like what what I felt would be authentic to me right? So the idea of like people even if people hated my work.
**** – (): 19:52.22
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 19:58.65
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, yeah, annoying that? yeah.
**** – (): 19:59.94
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I would rather them hate it and me know that I was being authentic than people loving it and me feeling like I falsely put myself out there and and it’s a and it’s a really hard dance especially as you get more successful as an artist that because.
**** – (): 20:16.53
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, right has it become harder now for you, you.
**** – (): 20:18.85
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Even harder. It’s it’s much easier when you’re that young person. Absolutely yeah, and especially because of like my specific career path because I am I deal with artists on a daily basis I have another business where I mentor artist and I teach and i. Have so many different extrapolations of what I do because here at the university I teach curatorial practice I’m a gallery director and I’ve been in arts management since 1998 and because of that I have seen the good the bad and the ugly of the art world and.
**** – (): 20:40.80
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah.
**** – (): 20:48.61
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Amazing.
**** – (): 20:54.42
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes, yeah.
**** – (): 20:57.61
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I also understand especially in these last years you know the art world goes in these cycles or these memes right? where like something becomes popular like at 1 point it was like anybody who was from China and doing art. It was like the thing and then it like.
**** – (): 21:14.29
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 21:17.26
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Then turned to a middle eastern thing and then it switched and then it kind of and and now we’re in a very interesting space where you know there’s the whole you know the black lives matter movement. All of these things that are happening that you know now like.
**** – (): 21:27.70
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): There is the.
**** – (): 21:36.71
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): They’re as a curator I understand why I won’t give maybe an exhibition to just anybody anymore because I have quotas I have to meet for my job.
**** – (): 21:45.33
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 21:52.62
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And so as an artist it puts you in a position where you’re like well I’m kind of effed in this situation I don’t really have you know these things I don’t have a different gender that I identify with I don’t have these areas that I necessarily fit in with.
**** – (): 22:01.69
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 22:12.59
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): But I also have to step back and understand that I just have to be as authentic as I can in this space understand that it’s other people’s moment right now and when it’s you know my time it will be my time and that’s a hard place I think for many artists. To to So I Guess Accept Um, and also the sobering truth of what it is to be on the curatorial side and be part of you know, fitting certain quotas that you need to match especially when you have ah you know, a.
**** – (): 22:46.38
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 22:50.99
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): A demographic that you’re serving that It’s really important that you’re doing things that speak directly to them.
**** – (): 22:59.30
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Tell me something what brought you? you started as an ah artist you took these adventures then now you’re not just 1 role. There’s so many other roles that you play.
**** – (): 23:15.23
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): First I want to ask you? what did when looking back. What was the what was the biggest limiting belief that you think you had that opened up everything the moment you let it go first. Let’s talk about that then I’ll ask you something else I have on my mind.
**** – (): 23:25.29
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Well.
**** – (): 23:30.62
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, so I mean that is pretty easy for me because it was something that I ran into when I was in India which was this idea. Yeah, it was it was that prior to that trip I kind of always saw that.
**** – (): 23:34.93
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): So okay, oh.
**** – (): 23:45.96
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh I think I’m just going to have some cats and be like a graphic designer and maybe do some art on the side right? and I don’t even really like cats no offense to people who are cat lovers. So it’s kind of it was just that notion of like I didn’t see my world as being a bigger world I had limited. My.
**** – (): 23:51.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 24:03.56
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Sense of yeah.
**** – (): 24:04.60
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Sense of self and then when I was in India I realized for the first time like why can’t I just be an art like you know why can’t I do art and why can’t I you know make art and be in that space and and pursue art as a career.
**** – (): 24:19.00
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, what with that was it as that was the like is the story behind that you would like to share with did something happen or it was like a just to realization over time.
**** – (): 24:24.40
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): So.
**** – (): 24:30.16
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): It was just you know it was just a personal realization while I was there I don’t remember any like specific pivotal moment of somebody saying something or something that I did that like transformed that it was really just like a wait like I can.
**** – (): 24:47.33
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Do that.
**** – (): 24:48.94
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I Can do this like yeah I’m like why am I Why am I So like worried or yeah or thinking I have to be you know, something different than what I feel is my innate being.
**** – (): 24:57.28
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): But it but could it also be because you also broke this shell of discomfort I truly feel like um I have experienced this in my own journey. But I feel like there is an area of comfort zone and then. It’s like like it’s like this elastic that we keep pushing and it starts to pain and pain and then you know, but then there is this point where that it becomes easy and you you’re completely out of your comfort Zone. You’ve done that and now you feel like you’ve expanded so much that you’re no longer afraid of.
**** – (): 25:15.50
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Move.
**** – (): 25:32.17
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Expanding more and like you’d like oh I’ve now become so uncomfortable that now it’s not as overwhelming for me to see these big dreams for thoughts that may not seem easy then but you know that you’ve already been through that. Discomfort that your bandwidth of taking that has increased tremendously.
**** – (): 25:51.61
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Laho.
**** – (): 25:56.78
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um I don’t know if I would describe it in the same way for myself I mean I understand the theory and I have seen that occur in other aspects of my life. But artistically.
**** – (): 26:11.93
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Because at the end of the day I think as art we’re all so scared because you know we’ve born and brought up and I mean we the popularization that not everybody makes it not everybody gets to be the artist that we you know that we’re speaking about talking about. So.
**** – (): 26:13.28
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I’m just I don’t know I’m I’ve never.
**** – (): 26:27.00
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Great.
**** – (): 26:31.35
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Sometimes even when we know that this is a possibility. What’s hard to believe it believe is if that’s a possibility for us for me that I think that is one of the limiting one of the believes that oh I know this is possible. But.
**** – (): 26:38.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh oh.
**** – (): 26:50.22
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I Don’t think this is possible for me.
**** – (): 26:51.71
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah I don’t think it comes from a way of working through the belief as it comes as much through action because it’s only through like putting yourself out there and stepping in you know, like like a.
**** – (): 26:59.83
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah, that is expanding your beliefs.
**** – (): 27:06.68
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, on that level. Yeah, like applying for those competitions or applying galleries and getting the feedback and also being prepared to get really awful feedback. You know like you have to be I had an art dealer. Probably the best advice I was ever given was that.
**** – (): 27:12.46
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah. Yeah.
**** – (): 27:26.21
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know you need to have skin as thick as a rhinoceous and it doesn’t mean that you can’t vibrate at a high frequency and be an awesome person. It means that you’ve got to be prepared for a level of rejection that most people are not accustomed to on a regular basis.
**** – (): 27:41.00
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Minimum That’s true.
**** – (): 27:45.12
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And you’ve got to be prepared for that rejection to happen continually again and again and again and and no matter what you keep persevering. So.
**** – (): 27:57.14
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): That’s true. Okay, now tell me something what brought you? what brought you expanding your vision of yourself. Not only as an artist but someone on the curatorial being a gallery director being. Um. What did you? a? What is what is your own learning because I feel like even when I expanded my own role within the arts from being an artist to now you know making running a company in the arts publishing working with artist. So many artists every day and month. Um,, there’s so many things that I’ve learned on on the backend like you know when when I was Artist. There was so many things that I never knew how it worked and sometimes we end up blaming. Sometimes you’re thinking about Oh What’s wrong with the system. But when you go on the backend and you understand Okay, this is why this was happening or you know what brought you? um, expand yourself as as a creative and how do you think that has holistically help you in your career so far.
**** – (): 29:07.40
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, you know some of it just is not even with choice I mean you’ve got to make money right? like and and I personally like to be comfortable and so that means for me that I want to know my bills are paid every month I want to know that I can.
**** – (): 29:11.53
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 29:24.87
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Thrive and also by having a full time Gig I give myself greater permission to do whatever I want to do because I’m not solely beholden to like every sale happening. Um.
**** – (): 29:30.69
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You want to know? yeah.
**** – (): 29:39.73
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah, um.
**** – (): 29:40.70
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And it becomes more of a special like a great thing when those sales occur but it doesn’t become something that I you know absolutely have to have and I know like a lot of artists who have the privilege of being you know married or Coupled. Who partner works and it gives them all this grace and freedom and that’s similar because it’s like they have something there that’s providing them with security so they can grow and expand and develop. Um and so for myself that was part of it. But the other thing is that I am. Super invested in understanding how the art Market Works How? um or doesn’t or I should say doesn’t work on a lot of levels but like but but you know like understanding the nitty-gritty of things creating better systems and procedures to be more productive and. To be able to jump on opportunities in a flash without having to go through a lot of extra life work and so that was part of it. But the other thing is I really like to serve and I think that for myself. You know it’s great doing my work and it’s wonderful when it people it serves people visually and they get to see it and inspires them Yada Yadi But that doesn’t happen on necessarily a daily basis whereas like when I’m at my job and I’m doing what I’m doing I’m serving the students I’m serving.
**** – (): 31:11.51
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): The artists I’m working with I’m helping boost their careers because I believe as an artist we have to conspiracize for each other’s success. The whole idea of us being in competition is such BS and it’s BS because
**** – (): 31:18.20
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I Love that. Absolutely.
**** – (): 31:27.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Art is subjective. It’s not like you’re both lawyers and you’re pinning for the same Job. It’s very very different and and so for me, it gives me a lot of deep fulfillment. To do that and I Also don’t think it’s healthy to be just in my own in incubated space all the time. It’s good to ah, step out of that and be there serving others so you’re not just like in this kind of vacuum.
**** – (): 31:46.41
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): 1
**** – (): 32:02.24
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, it opens up and I think you I think it I I think in my own experience it. It’s given you um so much more perspective. Um, and I think I Really like the way that you put it. You know you feel like you’re.
**** – (): 32:02.79
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): So.
**** – (): 32:17.75
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Not only serving yourself but you’re also serving others which is beneficial. Not only for someone that you’re working with but I think no matter what we are. We’re always learning. We are always learning by helping other people. Also it’s just not that we should like you know say the more you share the better. You get the more the knowledge gets its nevertheless and.
**** – (): 32:33.52
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 32:37.84
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): It’s It’s not only a help for someone else, but it’s also it keeps expanding you and your own perspective towards things.
**** – (): 32:46.73
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, yeah I I would echo that it’s a growth. Ah, it’s a growth. Um, you know it requires and I think it it requires a certain type of person to be able to switch hats like I do and you could probably relate to this.
**** – (): 32:49.90
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, yeah.
**** – (): 32:59.24
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And oh yeah, yes, absolutely.
**** – (): 33:03.34
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): To actually like be there champion like helping other artists. You know writing press releases for other artists doing things to like help their career and not just.
**** – (): 33:10.29
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): It is now.
**** – (): 33:17.56
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Siloed and just doing it for myself. It it also sometimes to be honest, can be exhausting right because I’m yeah yeah.
**** – (): 33:18.45
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, yeah, and sometimes you have to take your own things on the back seat because you know.
**** – (): 33:29.96
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Sometimes that’s the case and other times it’s more like actually you know like I need to do something for me today right? So um, and and that happens with any sort of give and take role right? Um, but yeah so I don’t know it’s and it also can be very discouraging at times.
**** – (): 33:34.97
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, I’m with something. Um, yeah, yeah.
**** – (): 33:49.10
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Because you realize as I said when you’re in when you go like kids every year you know I’m going to all the fairs I’m going to art Bowsl I’m going to this I’m going to that I’m like going to every gallery in every city I’m you know and it’s wonderful, but it’s.
**** – (): 33:58.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): It gets too much.
**** – (): 34:05.20
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): It’s also there’s this place at which you start to really get sobered like about the art world and be like God like is it really all It’s cracked up to be and and so that’s where you’ve got to come back to your beacon right? You’ve got to come back to whatever that.
**** – (): 34:15.51
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, but yeah.
**** – (): 34:24.62
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Greater intention is for like why you do what you do because those things will occur where you’re just kind of like demotivated and you’ve still just got to put on. You know your outfit go into your studio make art.
**** – (): 34:33.87
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, yeah. So.
**** – (): 34:42.96
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Despite all that exterior noise and all that stuff going on. So.
**** – (): 34:45.94
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, where do you feel in your own creative practice. You are what do you feel as a creative right now like Mindspace you’ve been doing this for so many years now I’m sure. Um.
**** – (): 34:56.72
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh God yeah.
**** – (): 35:00.67
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And there’s a huge evolution. Can you talk a little bit ah about the contrast contrast of how you where you started to where you’ve come now and how you feel about yourself today.
**** – (): 35:07.64
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Okay, okay, well first of all I’ll tell a story that will help put that in context. So when I moved to Portland Oregon which was back in I think like 2017 or 18 or something in there probably 17
**** – (): 35:15.63
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah, yes, sure.
**** – (): 35:25.83
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I for the first time integrated everything I owned and that was stuff that because I had lived in Australia for 8 years and I had things from you know I just had never had everything in 1 place and I invited a friend over and I had this friend go through all of my art with me. And at that time I destroyed art and I looked at art that I had been doing ever since I was a kid right? like a little girl and I made a decision to destroy a certain portion of that work and I um.
**** – (): 35:49.36
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh Wow yeah.
**** – (): 35:56.46
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Oh my goodness.
**** – (): 36:00.46
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And so I threw away £1200 of art and the only reason I know that is that was my way the difference between my way in and way out at the dump and throwing away that much art still having a lot. There was a.
**** – (): 36:09.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay.
**** – (): 36:18.22
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Ah, part like something happened for me within that which is I became very aware of my own delusions my own delusions around when I was younger going to the New York galleries pitching them and pissed off that they wouldn’t take me. But yet in this moment I became so grateful because a if they had taken me and I stayed if my art stayed at that place I would never be where I am today and then b is that it helped me see that my perseverance. And my delusion at that time was what kept me creating art despite maybe not having or being exactly where I thought I should be or or I was at that time and so that to me was. Ah, huge part of that evolution is like looking back and saying so now when I’m seeing students and their work is mediocre right? Some of them. Not everyone. You know I don’t put a lot of judgment on it I because I know the potential of growth if somebody has aspiration.
**** – (): 37:19.70
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah night.
**** – (): 37:27.57
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 37:29.55
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And so so for myself I think my evolution has gone from having a lot of really traumatic things happen younger in life deaths and things that are very life changing. And those things brought me to a place with my work where my work was focused on me. My work was about me was about my internal processing was about you know it was very self-centered. You know, very free to Callo in that way, right? she was in so much pain. She can’t paint about anything else but herself and then as I as I evolved my work became more about the we and became much more about like oh what’s going on with others.
**** – (): 38:01.15
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Okay, now.
**** – (): 38:17.57
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): What’s happening in their interactions I’m curious about human condition I studied and Nlp and coaching and hypnotherapy and all these different modalities to understand more about the human psyche and then from there it became more about what’s the bigger. We. What’s the collective. We. And so for myself that evolution is gone in that that way and then now as a creator. It’s interesting because like the last huge body of work I did was very politically inclined and now that’s shifting to where like I’m looking at the. What I call which is a japanese word called ma which basically means negative space and originally it was used in art to talk about the negative space. You know between things but now I’m interested in because in ma the idea is that. The negative space is more important than the positive space because because of this because it holds the potential for something greater and so with my own art. Not only as a creator am I looking at well what’s what’s my mom.
**** – (): 39:16.49
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): What’s it a place.
**** – (): 39:23.37
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Right? Not only the.
**** – (): 39:32.47
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know here I am in the Midwest in the in the middle right in this negative space but also like how does this I’m really interested in the relationships that we have and the Ma so the space between.
**** – (): 39:34.80
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 39:50.69
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): But both this relationships we have with self and others and so how that translates is how is it that you know we are filling that space and that vibration of that space changes so that people can’t have good interactions versus um, you know. Opening that space making it more buoyant to to allow for it to breathe and so that’s like now what I’m interested in which is actually interesting because I feel like it’s tethering back a little bit more to also a part of me that has been very invested In. Um, you know otherworldly like esoteric things to a certain degree. But also you know so not not just looking at who the political figures are but like let’s break that down. Let’s look at let’s look at the deeper stuff Now. Let’s look at the the in-between let’s look at what what’s.
**** – (): 40:41.35
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, you know? yeah.
**** – (): 40:49.90
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): What’s kind of hindering those greater conversations or the potentiality for people to be together I don’t know if that makes sense. But yeah.
**** – (): 40:58.52
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Right? I Love that No absolute I think I think and I do relate from the part that you said because um I don’t think I have evolved as a person.
**** – (): 41:15.76
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): As much as I have in the past three years ever since I lost my mother ever since um, everything that happened every every traumatic experience that has overcome ever since that and all that all the time that we I’ve had it’s left such an important.
**** – (): 41:18.76
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): So.
**** – (): 41:33.66
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): It’s become you know sometimes I keep saying it. It feels like it rebirth to me as a person myself because I really had to I really had to teach myself on how to live again. Um, and.
**** – (): 41:38.21
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): No.
**** – (): 41:49.73
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Find it What really didn’t suffice me now was not the person I was before what I knew before because I I knew now that I had to bring myself together and really find a stronger purpose and you know like you said acidic in the sense of like you know and that’s when I started. Diving really a lot more spiritually and that has impacted my work so much my own ancestry mythology Everything that was not me not my loss but also trying to understand.
**** – (): 42:14.25
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): No.
**** – (): 42:23.88
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, well.
**** – (): 42:26.92
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Way things work on such a on such a bigger level than and you know like it. It didn’t the problem like I think my person was very experienced. Ah, my experience was very personal. But then I figured like you know I needed to I needed a much bigger purpose. Um and sense of sense I wanted to build for myself and I do understand whether you’re you’re saying this because it does really change you and transforms you in a very like.
**** – (): 42:51.73
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, was.
**** – (): 43:00.91
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You being on the surface no longer fulfills you. It’s like how deeper can you get because you want to make sense of everything you want to like I think there’s this drive that pushes you deeper and deeper.
**** – (): 43:15.12
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, yeah, well thank you for sharing that and I’m sorry to hear about her passing because it it does push us to places that you know I don’t think that anybody it’s it’s different for everybody right? But I.
**** – (): 43:17.26
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): No no I understand.
**** – (): 43:29.31
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 43:32.63
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): I think that our society is very at least especially in the western culture I don’t I don’t know exactly how you feel for yourself in India and such but in the western culture. There’s this sense of well we’ll give you you know a week or 2 but then you should just be over it. Right? Then it should just be done and and.
**** – (): 43:52.42
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Absolutely no, it’s I but I don’t think it’s any longer um culture driven. It is also like especially I feel like you know and I know I feel sometimes so bad and guilty. You know it’s been I come here on this podcast every week. It’s been 3 years
**** – (): 44:05.58
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Great. Yeah.
**** – (): 44:08.66
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And I’m sure sometimes and I feel that way because I have literally like there’s no conversation that I I cannot have without this experience of my life because it really has defined me. It really has defined the person I have become and. Loss I feel is something that feels you like you know it’s it does not matter I still feel like it’s the wound still feels as fresh as it felt on the first day and then there is a day where I know time has passed but then I still feel like the same.
**** – (): 44:38.16
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Will.
**** – (): 44:47.10
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Emotion as I wo I had the other day. Sure some days. It’s easier some days. It’s more harder. But yeah, you’re expected like people feel like you expected and I’m not saying only loss and death but also experiences just in sense. Maybe we expected to quickly like in the world that we live. Everything needs to be so fast and quick like we are in world of short you know shorter time spans like everything is so fast and quick that there’s so many things that should have like you know you like you know you have to be It should be like two weeks and oh we are now life comes in and you deal with it.
**** – (): 45:05.91
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Frank.
**** – (): 45:14.51
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, lost.
**** – (): 45:24.70
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Sure we do I mean we’re all doing everything that we need to but it’s like that you’re living I feel like I’m living a new way I’m no longer the same person I was before that and I don’t think I can ever go back to that person I think is right.
**** – (): 45:26.24
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Friend.
**** – (): 45:35.15
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, well and and I think that that comes back to that that gap that pause that Ma that space between that you know giving ourselves permission to have that space as a creator as a.
**** – (): 45:50.99
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah.
**** – (): 45:52.90
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): As as a process like as processing emotions as as you know and I don’t you know it’s so funny because you can go on like Youtube or something and you could type in you know how to process a death or something like that and they’ll give you all these tools and tricks and.
**** – (): 45:54.73
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Now.
**** – (): 46:05.30
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Think yeah.
**** – (): 46:10.82
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Stuff like that. But at the end of the day and you know this as an artist and I think every artist understands this intrinsically is that you come up with your own tools right? You come up with your own tricks. No one else is going to give you those things and so.
**** – (): 46:18.61
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes, absolute move. Yeah and some days Not it’s not like something that worked for you in the beginning may work for you know I have seen that I feel like you know it’s yeah, it’s like you have to keep like.
**** – (): 46:30.39
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, no, it’s like a diet. Yeah.
**** – (): 46:36.00
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): It’s like ah it’s like diabetes. It’s like something that you have to keep monitoring yourself because some days I feel like oh this has come up like now I need to find a way to resolve this because this hadn’t come up in the beginning Now it has like it’s like you have to keep like you are evolving and your experiences show up in your life in different places.
**** – (): 46:49.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Well.
**** – (): 46:55.29
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And then you deal with it and you figure out. Okay, now this has come up How do I How how do I resolve how do I manage this I don’t think you can ever let to you can ever? Um, yes, yes yeah, you learn to do with.
**** – (): 46:55.93
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Brave.
**** – (): 47:03.36
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, you won’t get over it it it is. It’s like a constant. It’s just it’s a management right? Yeah I would agree with that and and and having a high level.
**** – (): 47:14.97
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah I need it.
**** – (): 47:19.49
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Of compassion for yourself and I think this really applies to to your studio time to the creative process this this idea that you know you look on Instagram and you’re like how the F-ing did that person just pump that out in like a heartbeat like and the reality is is that.
**** – (): 47:25.48
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yale diagra.
**** – (): 47:38.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): It’s going to take you the time it needs to take you and sure we have deadlines and things that we have to meet.
**** – (): 47:40.99
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You know, ah don’t you think this is the don’t you think this is all true because your experience has been that way because I do feel like I felt this sense of urgency before this experience of my life and after this I realized like oh my god.
**** – (): 47:53.97
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Are.
**** – (): 47:59.92
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I No Longer want to put myself on this this wheel of oh I’m missing out on life or I’m missing out on my goals or I’m missing out on this I feel like I’ve become more accepting towards that things are going to happen on their own time and I’m not even waiting for them to happen like like oh there’s this. Because in the world that we live with social media I think the expectation like it’s like and then you get this reality? Check you’re like no what?? what? What was I thinking and it really it really takes some really hard experience in experiences in life that give you that check.
**** – (): 48:32.45
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah I would agree and there’s also an acceleration for me of that happens from those sobering experiences of how how short life is right? like oh shoot I don’t really I don’t really have that much more time. My dad.
**** – (): 48:44.49
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): How how it works. Yeah, um.
**** – (): 48:50.75
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Is 80 he might live ah another 10 years if I only see him twice a year that’s 20 times right? and you know there’s those things or those things you want to accomplish but on the flip side of that is the piece that you’re human.
**** – (): 48:54.50
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): No god.
**** – (): 49:10.14
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And that you can only do what you can do and the only way forward is through and so there’s not like I’m going to run away from this emotion I’m going to run away from these things that are happening I’m going to go through them and and embody them and allow them.
**** – (): 49:11.20
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Nim.
**** – (): 49:14.28
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah.
**** – (): 49:24.49
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah, and with peace and kindness to yourself. Yeah because no I think I was not as kind to myself before I had this huge self of and like you know.
**** – (): 49:28.82
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): To give give me strength of course. Yeah, of course that’s always the goal. Um.
**** – (): 49:41.53
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): If I didn’t come through whatever expectation I had of myself. But then you know like I said after this experience I felt like I had to really rebuild myself re recreate myself rebirth and at that point I really understood that how much more. Patience kindness I needed to have my for my own self then just feeling like running from 1 thing to another one disappointment to another and just not being able to recognize what I’m experiencing and being just just I think just. Ah.
**** – (): 50:14.70
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, well.
**** – (): 50:19.29
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Just understanding the pain.
**** – (): 50:19.86
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, well and the interesting thing is with like the loss of especially a mother or even a father but there’s this parenting notion right of like all of a sudden now you have to give yourself that feminine energy. You have to be the mothering.
**** – (): 50:30.72
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, um.
**** – (): 50:34.76
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yeah, it’s like you lose a ground you you. It’s like you lose a ground. It’s like you. It’s like like you know I feel like I and I loved how Daniel.
**** – (): 50:38.65
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Mothering yourself right? and I think that that’s a huge part of it. Yeah.
**** – (): 50:50.92
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Ah, she also lost her mother and you know we had this conversation and she spoke about like it’s like you lose a part of yourself and now it’s like you’re relearning how to like you lose this one limb and leg and now you’re relearning you will never be on your two feet you will just you’ll walk again. But you learn to walk in 1 feed and you’ll always feel that white and now you’ll have to teach yourself again on how to do that because there’s nobody who’s going to tell you to how to do that you will have to figure out.
**** – (): 51:19.65
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, yeah I mean I think that’s 1 perspective and I and then I know for like myself in because I also lost my mom and and a sibling as well. But like within the loss of my my mother.
**** – (): 51:30.20
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): My himself.
**** – (): 51:35.53
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Like that relationship was not great and so it almost felt like the opposite to me. It felt like I was one legged in until that point and then I was given the ability to stand without this weight. Um.
**** – (): 51:36.49
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Now in the.
**** – (): 51:48.54
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes, yes.
**** – (): 51:51.70
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And there was don’t get me wrong. There were still things that you know as a mother she provided for me and was a great role model for me, but it also felt very liberating too. So for me, it’s very interesting and I this is why I love.
**** – (): 51:59.41
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah.
**** – (): 52:06.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah, absolute rising you all have our own experience here.
**** – (): 52:09.66
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Caring about the experiences because for me, it was almost like the total opposite whereas and my mom you know even from a young age had me doing all of my stuff myself like she never did things for me. It was like you do your own laundry. You make your lunches since I was 6
**** – (): 52:14.30
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah, you know what’s strange I’ll tell you you know I always.
**** – (): 52:27.93
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You find you want to find that number here’s the phone book. You know like it was like.
**** – (): 52:31.80
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): No I can relate to this thing. You know what strange is I grew up in a family which wasn’t the most stable in the sense like emotionally and I was a third child and I never felt as provided emotionally with their own new reasons and etc.
**** – (): 52:47.25
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Whoa.
**** – (): 52:49.59
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And I never had the time with my mother as much and I moved out when I was very young. Ah when I was 17 and I stayed on my own for so many years so many years um, over ten years twelve years and then I just for the first time in my life. The first the year before covid that was the first year I felt like I had her to myself like she I finally finally had the chance in life where I got what I wanted in the sense of her time and you know and that’s just I only had and I feel fortunate to at least have.
**** – (): 53:08.53
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Well.
**** – (): 53:13.96
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): 1
**** – (): 53:19.66
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): For.
**** – (): 53:26.79
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): At least have experienced that. But also so much. There was so much anger and frustration in me that felt like you know there was I now I felt my time had come now I felt like you know I could finally and that is when she left and I had I was so angry for so much of my time and life like.
**** – (): 53:37.87
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um.
**** – (): 53:40.77
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): 1
**** – (): 53:46.75
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): I felt like I just like I felt like this you know if you I felt like this kid who always wanted like this. You know this doll and then when you know she finally caught it and like you had it for 10 minutes and somebody snatched it away and.
**** – (): 54:01.65
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Flow.
**** – (): 54:04.78
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Just the feeling of something not having ever but then having it knowing what it felt like for a millisecond and somebody just took it So I do relate to that and you know I think relationships are so complex that sometimes you know.
**** – (): 54:12.32
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh.
**** – (): 54:23.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Just I think as specifically parent is no matter no matter how good in bad, we have it um, complex and easy. There will always be good days. Bad days but just like you know say at least in my own experience just like you said being a mother of having someone or parent your own parents. It’s just like a defining source of who you are where you come from just to know how also and it’s like then after they if they if they’re not around it’s like now you really have to make your own ground like you really have to like.
**** – (): 54:53.51
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, well.
**** – (): 54:58.35
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, well.
**** – (): 55:00.00
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): No matter how stable or unstable that ground was now you don’t have it any longer you have to create your own I think that in itself is can be liberating for someone and can be challenging but at the end of the day it does teach you a lot. You know.
**** – (): 55:03.80
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, but um, yeah.
**** – (): 55:15.78
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh it has to hopefully for the better. Um, you know it’s interesting when you’re talking about this kind of impermanence to a certain degree right? This idea that you know and I think I think artists like when it comes to creation.
**** – (): 55:19.86
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): 9 books. So.
**** – (): 55:32.77
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): It’s a very similar thing you’re creating something you’re creating. You know a little like a being into the world right? and then you kind of have to let it go right? You get to spend all this time with it. But then you’ve got to allow it to find its own place in the world.
**** – (): 55:35.00
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um, yeah.
**** – (): 55:46.94
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Um.
**** – (): 55:49.83
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): And.
**** – (): 55:51.39
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): And so there is something almost parallel to me about those experiences where we have to learn this level of like detachment around you know around what we make we have to like be willing to release it and. And be joyful for the time that we did get to spend with that work or whatever for better or for worse I mean it’s not always great. Yeah yeah.
**** – (): 56:09.94
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Yes I do. Okay, yeah at the end of the day you I think you learn. Yeah I Think what really lost does to you no matter any kind of it really humbles you for whatever little you had. It also tells you that you could have more like if you really push yourself and but our own limiting beliefs but it also reminds you that we need to be grateful for whatever we did have I think on the flip side say. Ah yeah.
**** – (): 56:40.67
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Um, yeah, yeah, no I agree.
**** – (): 56:46.40
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Thank you so much. This was such a nice conversation I can’t believe he’s already spoken for an hour and thank you so much for your vulnerability. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I do think that you have really left um a lot of important things for us to think about. But I have 1 more last question.
**** – (): 56:50.65
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Ah, yeah.
**** – (): 56:55.13
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): The cars.
**** – (): 57:03.48
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Was on.
**** – (): 57:05.65
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): What do you have as an advice for someone who’s listening to this episode who’s let’s say and I do not think about age when I ask this because I feel like our physical age versus wherever we are in our life could be very different ages.
**** – (): 57:12.19
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): For both.
**** – (): 57:20.95
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): So what do you have someone who’s in there early where they’re just trying to figure out this feeling stuck or unable to push themselves through what you have advice specifically for women because of course.
**** – (): 57:29.10
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Hopefully.
**** – (): 57:33.71
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Oh Gosh I mean I think the biggest thing is um, don’t expect to always feel creative just show up and so for myself and I see it happening with others. It’s this idea that. If you feel void of Ideas. Don’t worry about it just put your pen to the paper put your brush to the canvas just keep moving and that would be my biggest advice like keep moving and keep putting it out there No matter what.
**** – (): 58:01.39
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): You know.
**** – (): 58:09.95
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): You know your work is going to change over time and so what? So what? if people see your older work and it’s not as good as your newer work. Don’t worry about it just keep doing yeah and moving forward. Oh yeah, thank you.
**** – (): 58:19.51
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Pushing keep giving not than thank you so much. Thank you for this wonderful advice. But ah, where can people who are listening back. Can they find you look at your work support. You.
**** – (): 58:34.89
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Yeah, so um, my tan mayo bingham dot com is my website or everything else is under Tan Mayo Bingham so um yeah and anybody who that’s my Instagram et cetera and then anybody who wants. Um. 1 on 1 mentoring or things of that nature or taking art classes. My company is visual artist capital and it’s just visualartcapital.com. So yeah, yeah, of course like.
**** – (): 58:58.84
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Perfect. Thank you so much and my it was so nice speaking to you I Hope to see you soon again.
**** – (): 59:07.28
**** – (): tanmaya bingham
**** – (): Wise and thanks so much for this opportunity. It was quite a delight So okay, take care bye.
**** – (): 59:08.37
**** – (): charukaarora
**** – (): Absolutely see you? Oh you Don naturally once like.

About the Guest(s):

Tan Maya Bingham is an artist, curator, and gallery director based in Indiana. She has a background in art education and has been involved in the arts industry since 1998. Tan Maya is passionate about serving artists and helping them boost their careers. She believes in the power of art to create connections and foster understanding among people.

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Tan Maya Bingham shares her journey as an artist and curator. She talks about growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and how the diverse cultural influences in the area shaped her artistic perspective. Tan Maya also discusses her time in India and Nepal, where she explored spirituality and expanded her creative thinking. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity in art and the challenges of navigating the art world. Tan Maya also shares her current focus on exploring the concept of “ma,” or negative space, in her artwork.

Key Takeaways:

Embrace authenticity in your art and don’t be afraid to explore new perspectives and techniques.
The art world can be challenging, but perseverance and a thick skin are essential for success.
Serving others and helping fellow artists can be fulfilling and provide a sense of purpose in your creative journey.
The concept of “ma” or negative space can be a powerful tool in art, allowing for deeper connections and meaning.
Don’t expect to always feel creative; just keep showing up and putting your work out there.

Notable Quotes:

“I would rather have people hate my work and know that I was being authentic than have people love it and feel like I falsely put myself out there.”
“Art is subjective, and we should conspire for each other’s success rather than compete.”
“The negative space in art is often more important than the positive space because it holds the potential for something greater.”

Charuka Arora is the founder of the Arts to Hearts Project and Host of the Arts to Hearts Podcast. She is also an acclaimed Indian artist known for her contemporary embellished paintings. Her unique blend of gouache, collage, embroidery, painting, and drawing explores the intersection of art, culture, heritage, and womanhood. Through her work, she tells stories of female strength and encapsulates them in pieces that can be treasured for generations.

Charuka’s work draws inspiration from Hindu mythology, recognizing women as vessels of Shakti, the cosmic energy. She beautifully portrays powerful goddesses like Durga Maa riding a tiger or lion, symbolizing their unlimited power to protect virtue and combat evil.

Through her art, Charuka invites us into the world of women, showcasing their beauty, strength, and resilience. Her creations not only exhibit exceptional talent but also serve as an inspiration and a symbol of hope for those challenging societal norms.

Arts to Hearts Podcast is a show delving into the lives and passions of renowned artists. From running creative businesses and studio art practices to cultivating a successful mindset, Charuka Arora engages in heartfelt conversations with her guests. Experience your personal happy hour with your favorite artists, right in your studio.

Through candid discussions, Charuka and her guests reveal the joys and challenges of a vibrant creative life, both within and beyond our studios. Get ready to be inspired and uplifted as you tune in.

Tanmaya Bingham

“MY ART IS A SERIES OF GOOD DECISIONS EXECUTED THROUGH DISCIPLINE AND DRIVEN BY PASSION”

The portrayals of my subjects are a direct reflection of my fascination with the human condition. People and animals are often the focal point of my work and act as a beacon of familiarity for the viewer. They are frequently placed within a context that is otherworldly with an oblique or unusual frame of reference. It is through these exaggerated renditions of life that I have cultivated my own style.

Even though my artworks appear to have a photographic quality, they are hand drawn and painted. The realistic elements are primarily rendered in colored pencil while the abstracted elements are typically painted with acrylic.